Apparatus for use in the treatment of hides, skins, and leather



March 5, 1935. M. M. MERRITT APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF HIDES, SKINS, AND LEATHER Original Filed Jan. 24, 1931 av 3 m E 5 1233 g S QQ R -.l f n V\ N MN 6N Q Q SN 7 W cm Mm QM, @W III" Q R ms m l h l l hfiI J F 1 adv 8 Q on 9 \H 1 N m w L Nm 3 w @n wm w Patented Mar. 5, 1935 I UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF HIDES, SKINS, AND LEATHER Matthew M. Merritt, Middleton, Mass., assignor to The Tanning Process Company, Boston,

Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Original application January 24, 1931, Serial No.

511,026. Divided and this application November 21, 1932, Serial No. 643,577

4 Claims.

This invention relates to means for treating hides, skins and leather. While the invention is illustrated with reference to an apparatus provided to facilitate the practice of the method of 5 tanning hides and skins described and claimed in the copending application Serial No. 511,026,

filed January 24, 1931, of which this application is a division, it is to be understood that the invention and various important features thereof may have other applications and uses.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved machine operative to facilitate treatment of hides and skins in such manner that certain preliminary operations by which the hides or skins are prepared for tanning may be so conducted as to simplify the operations connected with both the preparation of the hides and skins and the tanning thereof, and to reduce greatly the handling of the hides and skins. Other objects of the invention are to speed up production and at the same time reduce the labor cost incidental to tanning operations.

To these ends and in accordance with important features of the invention, the illustrated machine comprises conveniently a work supporting conveyor of impervious sheet material movable over an impervious supporting surface for the conveyor, together with a lubrication system arranged to supply a lubricating liquid between the endless conveyor and said supporting surface in an organization wherein means is provided for carrying on and discharging the liquid used in the lubrication of the conveyor and also the waste liqui ds from operation incidental to the preparation of the hides and skins for tanning and to the tanning thereof. By the use of this improved conveyor, hides or skins may receive treatment while being moved on the conveyor from one station or operator to another. Not only may the 40 desired treatment be carried out expeditiously but removal of waste liquid and/or excess treating material is greatly facilitated. In the illustrated construction, troughs are provided in the supporting structure for the endless conveyor, the said troughs being located one at each longitudinal edge of the endless conveyor in a position to receive not only the overflow of the lubricating liquid from the under surface of the conveyor but also the waste liquids which are removed from pieces of work while disposed upon the upper surface of the conveyor.

These and other important features of the invention, together with novel combinations of parts, will now be described in detail and then M pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of an apparatus illustrating one embodiment of the invention for use in the treating of hides and skins;

Fig. 2 is a plan view from above of Fig. 1 (on 5 the line 11-11 of Fig. 1), with parts omitted, in order to show to better advantage the sequence of operations upon the work;

Fig. 2a indicates a vat used in connection with the machine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2; and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of a support for the work.

In the illustrated apparatus which is designed specially for tanning operations upon hides and skins there is provided a conveyor mechanism' 10 (Figs. 1 and 2) comprising an endless belt conveyor 12 arranged to pass around two end rolls 14 and 16, the latter being driven through a sprocket wheel 18 which is fixed to shaft 20 of the roll 16. Passing around the sprocket wheel 18 is a chain 22 also passing around a second sprocket wheel 24 on a shaft 26 carrying a sprocket wheel 28. Passing around the sprocket Wheel 28 is a chain 30 which also passes around a sprocket wheel 32 on the shaft of a motor 34 which serves as a convenient source of power for moving the belt conveyor 12. The upper run of the belt conveyor 12 rests upon a smooth, fiat table 36.

Since the belt conveyor 12 is relatively wide and heavy and made of rubber, or of rubberized fabric, means is provided for lubricating the under side of the belt conveyor 12 and the upper surface of the table 36 to lessen friction and thereby facilitate the operation of the motor em ployed in moving the belt conveyor over the table. Conveniently water is used as the lubricating liquid. For wetting the belt conveyor 12 and for discharging water upon the upper surface of the table 36, between such surface and the underside of the belt conveyor 12, there is provided in the illustrated construction a main pipe 40 from which there extends a number of branches, one of which is shown at 42 in Fig. l of the drawing. This branch pipe 42 has an upwardly extending and piece 44, the mouth of which opens upon the upper surface of the table 36 below the upper run of the belt conveyor 12. Several of these branch pipes 42 are employed in the length of the table to insure proper lubrication between the table 36 and belt conveyor 12 when the table and belt are relatively long, each branch pipe 42 being provided with a valve 46 controllable by a hand wheel 48 so that the amountof water discharged may be regulated in accordance with the judgment of the operator. Preferably the pipes 44 discharge upon the upper surface of the table 36 at points located substantially upon the longitudinal center line of the table.

For collecting and discharging the excess lubricating liquid there is provided at each edge of the table a trough 50 (Fig. 1), each trough being provided with a discharge pipe which leads to a larger discharge pipe 53 (Fig. 1). Preferably and as shown the discharge pipe 53, at its lower end is located above a large trough which discharges into any convenient sewer.

While the hides or skins are resting upon the upper surface of the belt conveyor 12 certain operations may be performed, such as that of slicking out each hide or skin whereby a considerable proportion of the watery content of each hide or skin is removed-therefrom, and then applying tanning material to the slicked-out hide or skin. Means is provided for draining waste watery material, produced by the slicking-out operation, from the upper surface of the traveling belt conveyor, this means conveniently comprising, in the illustrated machine, the troughs 50 which, as stated, are utilized in the discharge of the excess lubricating liquid. By having the troughs under the longitudinal edges of the belt conveyor 12, the latter overhangs at its edges the said troughs 50 and readily discharges into the troughs the waste material from the hides and skins. Hence the troughs 50 and the connected pipes 53 discharge not only excess lubricating liquid but also the waste material from the hides and skins.

As most clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing the lower run of the belt conveyor is relatively slack and is carried by a plurality of rollers 60. Between two adjacent rollers 60 there is located a small tank 62 containing water, the arrangement being such that the lower run of the belt conveyor dips down into this tank of water and is washed on both of its surfaces as it passes lengthwise of the tank. The tank 62 is conveniently supplied with water by means of a branch pipe 64 extending from the main pipe 40 of the water lubricating system, a valve 66 being provided in the pipe 64 for controlling the supply of water to the tank 62. The main pipe 40 of the water lubricating system may be attached to the water supply pipe of the factory in which the machine is located.

At the entering end of the belt conveyor 12 there is provided a feeding-in table 70 (Fig. 1) up which pieces of work may be shoved for engagement with the belt conveyor 12. While on this table, tanning material may be applied to the work by a worker standing on a platform '73. Conveniently, and as shown, each piece of work, whether a hide or skin, is placed upon a portable backing or work support '71, a stack of such backing members or work supports being shown at 72 resting upon the supporting surface of a table truck 74. At the discharge end of the belt conveyor 12 there is provided a discharging table 75 consisting of a number of slats having beveled end portions located closely adjacent to the belt conveyor 12 where it starts downwardly around the roll 16 so as to take each portable backing member or work support 71 from the conveyor as it reaches this point in its travel. A workman will remove each backing member or work support with the work thereon from the discharge table 75 and place it upon the supporting surface of a table truck 76 having a specially constructed supporting surface as will hereinafter be described.

Mounted above the conveyor mechanism 10 is a From the tank 80 a pipe leads to a main 82 towhich is connected a number of flexible discharge tubes 84 and 86 (Fig. l), the lower portions of which may be freely moved to discharge a treating liquid on the moving work, each discharge tube having a hand operated valve so that the operator may control the amount of tanning liquid to be discharged therefrom upon any given piece of work.

Located adjacent to the table truck 74 at the entering end of the conveyor mechanism is a table truck 90 (Figs. 1 and 2) adapted to receive a stack of hides or skins 92 from any suitable source, to transfer them to a location adjacent to the table truck '74, and to hold or support them in such location that the hides or skins may be transferred one at a time to a work treating station on the stack of work supports '71. Subsequently the hide or skin is shifted to another station below the tube 84.

Located adjacent to the table truck 76 at the discharge end of the conveyor mechanism is a vat 94 (Fig. 2a) also made in the form of a truck so that it may be readily transferable from one location to another.

For convenience in operating upon the hides or skins there will be provided, as already stated, a plurality of portable backing members or work supports 71 shown in stack formation at 72 in Fig. 1. These backing members or work supports are in the form of mats or sheets without border pieces or thickened portions. Each mat or sheet is substantially the same thickness throughout and is flexible, at least in its marginal portions, so that these portions are readily bendable upwardly above the plane of the body portion of the mat or sheet to form a container whereby the sheet may be readily transformed from a plane work supporting sheet to a container and vice versa.

When it is desired that the sheets shall serve as containers it is necessary only to place them upon a table truck like that shown at '76 the upper surface of which, as most clearly shown in Fig. 3, has marginal members raised above the flat top 102 of the table truck. As shown in Fig. 3, a sheet or mat or backing member 71 placed on the table top 102 will conform more or less to the table top and to the marginal members 100 so that the marginal portions of the sheet or mat are bent upwardly, thus converting the sheet into a container whereby any liquid or liquids applied to the hide or skin on the sheet or mat will not escape by draining therefrom. The work supports 71 which, as stated, are in the form of sheets or mats, should be light to be readily portable and should also be of material readily wetted by water, as will be hereinafter explained. Examples of substances which have these desired qualities are rubber or rubberized fabric, linoleum and Quaker felt. This lastmentioned substance, namely, Quaker felt, is made of sheets of felt impregnated with asphaltum and having surfaces finished with a flexible paint or enamel.

As stated above, the mat or sheet should be of material which is readily wetted by water, that is, it should be water-adherent so that a hide or skin slicked-out on one of its surfaces will adhere thereto to a considerable degree. Moreover, if the stack of mats or sheets at 71 have their surfaces wet with water as they are stacked up on the table truck 74, they will readily be drawn up on to the belt conveyor 12, which also has a water-adherent surface. when a foot or more of one end of the mat or sheet has been engaged with the wet surface of the belt conveyor 12 passing around the roller 14. Because of this fact the workmen who stand on the opposite sides of the table truck 74 need not transfer each work support 71 into full engagement with the belt conveyor 12, it being necessary only to shove each work support in turn up the slanting feeding-in table 70 until the forward end of the given work support 71 is engaged with the traveling belt conveyor 12 since in that case the light work support will be drawn on to the belt conveyor 12 and will pass along the conveyor mechanism 10 in a position to have the work treated by other workmen who stand on platforms '95 on opposite sides of the conveyor mechanism 10.

In treating hides and skins with the apparatus disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3, inclusive, of the draw ing, a stack of hides or skins 92 is placed upon the table truck 90 and the latter is located adjacent to the table truck 74 upon which a stack of backing members or work supports 71 has been placed with both surfaces of each work support moistened with water. A hide or skin is transferred from the stack of the table 90 to the exposed surface of the top work support '71 of the stack 72. On this top work support a piece of work if it be a heavy hide is spread out in substantially extended condition with all folds and wrinkles efiaced. Hides are subjected to a putting-out operation before reaching the table 90. Each hide is then treated on its grain surface with a tanning solution obtained from the flexible tube 84 through proper manipulation of the valve 85 adjacent to the lower end of the tube. If the piece of work be a skin or light hide, it will be slicked out in fully extended condition while resting on the top work support of the stack 72 and before the application of tanning material through tube 84. It will be understood that the workers at this station may make use of brushes or swabs to spread the tanning liquid substantially uniformly over the exposed grain surface of the hide or skin. However, it is preferred to have this done at another station viz., at the feedingin table 70. The use of spraying devices for applying tanning material to the hides or skins is also contemplated. As soon as the application of tanning material has been accomplished, the work support with its treated hide or skin is shoved up the feeding-in table 70 until its forward end engages with the traveling belt conveyor 12, the upper surface of which is wet with water as above described. The work support 71 travels with the belt conveyor 12 and is soon in a position to be operated by workers, standing one on each side of the conveyor mechanism 10, who spread out the hide or skin after having reversed it by placing the grain surface down upon its backing or work support 71. Care is taken to do a thorough job of slicking-out on skins so that the latter may be extended to their full normal area upon the upper surface of the backing or work support '71. In performing this slicking-out operation a large proportion of the watery content of the skin, including some of the spent tanning solution, is removed therefrom and subsequently drains into the troughs at each side of the belt conveyor 12. After the slicking-out operation, which is performed while the work support '71 and the hide or skin thereon are traveling .along with the belt conveyor 12, the latter discharges the work support 71 with its slicked-out hide or skin on to the discharge table 75 from which it is removed by a worker and placed upon the table truck '76. when placed upon this table truck 76 the marginal portions of the backing or work support 71 bend upwardly for reasons given above; thus converting the plane sheet work support 71 into a container. As soon as the work support or backing 71 with its slicked-out hide or skin has been placed upon the table truck 76, strong or concentrated tanning solution, obtained from the tube 86 by proper manipulation of the valve 85 is applied to the hide or skin, the tanning liquid being spread over the exposed flesh surface of the hide or skin in a uniform manner with the aid of a brush or a swab. Preferably the tanning solution is allowed to act upon the fully stretched out hide or skin for a time substantially just sufiicient to set the hide or skin in its fully extended condition. This means that the hide or skin is only partially tanned on the work support 71, but to such an extent that it will subsequently maintain this area while it is undergoing other operations intended to complete the tanning thereof. Conveniently each work support 71 with its slicked-out skin which arrives at the discharge table 75 will be placed upon the work support 71 which preceded it, and the hide or skin thereon treated as just described. In this way, the work supports 71 with their treated hides or skins are stacked up on the table truck '76 to a convenient height whereupon this table truck may be readily shoved to one side and an empty one substituted therefor. After the hides or skins have been left in the stack on the table truck 76 for a sufficient length of time, which may be as short as fifteen minutes in the case of very thin skins but which may be for a period of hours and even over night, each hide or skin is removed in turn from its work support and placed in a body of tanning solution such as that contained in the portable vat shown at 94 in Fig. 2a. This portable vat contains a quantity of the desired tanning solution, and as each hide or skin is placed therein both of its surfaces are thoroughly wetted with the tanning solution. Hides or skins thus placed individually in the solution in the vat 94 do not become closely packed together but are separated by a substantial film of tanning solution. The tanning is readily finished in this vat with the hides or skins in fully extended condition. After the requisite length of time they are removed and finished in accordance with any of the old and well-known methods commonly employed in leather manufacturing establishments. While it is preferred with certain kinds of leather designed for certain purposes to finish the tanning in vats similar to that shown at 94, for certain other purposes the hides or skins, and particularly hides intended for sole leather, may be finished by drumming with a strong or concentrated solution of tanning material. Drumming hastens the penetration of the tanning solution and, in the case of hides, loading of the hide with tanning material may be more readily accomplished than in a vat.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for treating hides and skins, a conveyor comprising a sheet of impervious material to support pieces of work during treatment thereof, a support for the conveyor having a smooth impervious surface upon which the sheet portion of the conveyor rests and over which it is moved, means for ejecting a lubricating liquid on said smooth surface whereby lubrication is effected between said smooth surface and the under surface of the sheet conveyor, and means for drawing oil excess lubricating liquid, said means being located to serve also as a discharging means for waste material displaced from pieces of work on the upper surface of the conveyor.

2. In a machine for treating hides and skins, an endless conveyor of impervious sheet material, a support for the conveyor having a smooth impervious surface upon which the conveyor rests and over which it is moved, means for ejecting a lubricating liquid on said smooth surface, said conveyor being adapted to support pieces of work during treatment thereof, and a trough for conducting away excess lubricating liquid, said trough being located along an edge of the conveyor for carrying away also waste material produced during treatment of the pieces of work on the conveyor.

3. In a machine for performing putting-out operations on hides and skins, an endless belt conveyor of impervious sheet material, a rigid support for the upper run of the endless belt conveyor having a smooth uninterrupted surface, means comprising a pipe having its mouth opening on said smooth surface for ejecting a lubricating liquid on a smooth surface of the conveyor support, said conveyor being adapted to support pieces of work during putting-out operations thereon, and a trough associated with the support for the conveyor and arranged along an edge of the upper run of the belt conveyor for conducting away excess lubricating liquid and also waste displaced from said pieces of work during treatment thereof.

4. In a machine for performing putting-out operations upon hides and skins, an endless belt conveyor of impervious sheet material, a rigid support for the upper run of the conveyor having a smooth impervious supporting surface upon which a portion of the upper run of the conveyor rests, means comprising one or more pipes having openings on the smooth supporting surface for supplying a lubricating liquid to such surface, said conveyor being adapted to support pieces of work during putting-out operations thereon, and troughs arranged along each side of said smooth supporting surface for conducting 20 material from the work undergoing treatment. 25

MA'ITHEW M. MERRITT. 

